Automatic call director (ACD) technology is a well known technology that: i) accepts incoming calls from calling clients; ii) queues calling clients on-hold for connection to a service representative; and iii) when a service representative is available, connects the client from the queue to the available service representative.
One problem associated with ACD technology is that the amount of time a client waits in queue can be quite lengthy, particularly during times at which many clients are calling the call center. A client waiting on-hold without any knowledge of when he or she will be connected to a service representative can be exasperating.
Expected wait time systems have been developed which, as a courtesy, provide a calling client with a prediction of the time the client will need to wait in queue until a service representative is available. While this solution provides the calling client with information about the predicted wait time, it does not alleviate the problem associated with the client having to wait on-hold for an extended period of time.
In an effort to reduce customer exacerbation caused by having to maintain a connection while on-hold in queue, interim systems have been developed. Exemplary interim systems include systems which handle the client during the expected wait time. One example would be a system which interactively provides information to the customer on an automated basis.
Another example would be a call back system which obtains a telephone number at which the calling client can be reached at the end of the expected wait time. The client disconnects, and then, at the end of the expected wait time, the call back system establishes a connection to the client and couples the client to an available representative without waiting on-hold in queue. One exemplary system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,921 to Williams et al. which is commonly assigned with the present application.
An advantage of a call back system as an interim system is that the system not only eliminates the requirement that the client remain connected on-hold in queue, but the system also reduces toll charges in a system wherein the call center is paying toll charges for clients on-hold in queue (e.g. clients who called-in on a toll free number).
One characteristic of using an interim system is that the client is not connected to a service representative until after the interim system has completed its handling of the client. In the example where the interim system is a call back system, the client is not connected to the service representative until: i) the expected wait time expires; and ii) the system calls the client and establishes a connection. This is not a problem during a typical business day because each service representative is continually handling clients from the queue until such time as the call back system establishes a connection with the client. In other words, no service representatives are idle waiting for the call back system to establish the connection.
However, waiting for an interim system to complete its handling of a client can be a problem as the end of a work day approaches. Typically, service representatives will stay past the time the call center “officially closes” to work through clients in queue. If clients have been directed to an interim system near the end of the business day, it is possible that the service representatives will complete handling of all clients in queue before the interim system completes its handling of those clients directed to the interim system. This would cause idle time while one or more service representatives wait for the interim system to complete its handling of clients.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for managing the queuing of clients waiting to be connected to a resource for servicing in a system wherein both a traditional queue and an interim system are available for handling of clients waiting to be connected to a resource. More particularly, what is needed is such a system that permits handling of clients by an interim system only if resources are expected to be available for handling at a time that the interim system would be expected to complete its handling of the client.